The present invention relates to a theft deterrent security tag for attachment to an article and, more particularly, to a security hang tag which allows for its rotation with respect to the article to be protected.
Electronic surveillance systems that use electronic article surveillance (EAS) markers to provide theft protection of articles to which the markers are attached are well known. EAS markers may be placed on or attached to various articles which are susceptible to theft. An associated detection apparatus is placed at the exit of a facility to detect the unauthorized transit of the article through the exit. Labels, tags, hangers and various other products may incorporate EAS markers to deter theft of the article.
With many of the EAS markers, by nature of the marker itself or by the article to which it attached, location of the EAS marker on the article is readily apparent to the prospective purchaser. Since the purchaser is aware of the presence of the EAS marker, the purchaser may attempt to remove the EAS marker in an unauthorized manner to defeat the electronic surveillance system.
One method of attaching an EAS marker to an article is through the use of a hang tag. Hang tags, such as the one shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,624,753, provide a housing for supporting the EAS marker. A strap or cable tie is attached to the housing and the strap may be inserted into or around the article to be protected and permanently attached again to the housing. In the past, individuals have attempted to remove the hang tag by twisting the housing of the hang tag, thus rotating the hang tag with respect to the strap. This causes tension in the strap which, upon sufficient application, may cause the strap to sever thereby allowing the hang tag to be removed from the article. Thus, while it is desirable to use hang tags for various applications, prior art hang tags suffer from this disadvantage.
Certain prior art hang tags do provide a rotatable connection between the article to be protected and the housing of such hang tag. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,518,521 discloses a hang tag including a rotating inner core which cooperates with a wire element for attaching such hang tag to an article to be protected. However, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that applications exists in the marketplace which require a plastic strap, as compared to the wire or line of the mentioned publication. Moreover, the prior art design disclosed in the '521 patent can present both manufacturing and assembly issues, which increase the cost and complexity of such product.
Another hang tag having a rotatable head is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,183,914. Although the '914 patent discloses a hang tag employing a plastic strap, the design requires the strap to pass through a portion of the rotatable head, leaving a tail portion extending from such head after the hang tag is secured to the article. This exposed tail can be unsightly and/or undesirable in a retail setting. Moreover, the manufacture of the head/strap assembly of the '914 patent presents both manufacturing and cost challenges.
There is therefore a need in the art for a security hang tag which can both support an EAS marker and be secured to an article via a rotatable connection, thereby reducing the likelihood that the security hang tag can be removed from the article in an unauthorized manner. There is a further need in the art for this same security hang tag to include a plastic strap, and to be able to be manufactured in a cost efficient and efficient manner.